Good Morning All!
A great time was had at Luna Cafe in Spokane last night with our dear friends Hal & Janie. We got together to celebrate their recent 31st wedding anniversary. We had an excellent dinner with superb service out on Luna’s patio. A great summer evening with great people. It was fun to catch up on family news and to share adventures we’ve had since we last met. Friends are more valuable than gold…Here’s to Hal & Janie! Also, I was treated by a chance encounter at Luna with my friends, Toby & Barb, sports & special events facilitators extraordinaire (they brought the U.S. Figure Skating Championships to Spokane, as an example). It was great to catch up with them, as well. Here’s to Toby & Barb and all they have done for our community! We’re sure lucky to have them here!
Speaking of great people, here’s to our friends Daniell, wife, mother, philosopher, theologian & servant extraordinaire; to Jen, mother to be and a person with a passion for missionary work; and to Bethany, wife, mother & children’s church coordinator extraordinaire; who celebrate their birthdays today & tomorrow. Happy Birthday Daniell, Jen & Bethany. Here’s hoping you all have lots of fun on your special day of celebration!
Also, Happy Birthday wishes go to actor Mark Goddard of TV’s “Lost In Space” fame (he was the other, younger astronaut along with Guy Williams…”danger Will Robinson…danger” as the space ship’s robot was fond of saying!…June Lockhart of “Lassie” fame was on the show too!), who turns 83 today; to actress Lynda Carter of TV’s “Wonder Woman” fame, who is 68 today; Broadway actress/singer Kristin Chenoweth of the Broadway musical “Wicked” fame (and adopted as a baby), who is 51 today; to actress Anna Paquin, one of the youngest actors ever to win an Oscar, who turns 37 today; to political cartoonist Pat Oliphant, who is 84 today, to “Laugh-In” comedian Ruth Buzzi, who turns 83 today; and to one of my favorite professional basketball players of all time, Karl Malone (“The Mailman”), who is 56 today…here’s to all of you!!!
One of the joys of life is having the privilege of having grandchildren. Yesterday, I put Joshua (Josh)–11 yrs. old, Bobby—10 yrs. old & Quinn—8 yrs. old to work on some home improvement projects. Quinn was responsible for watering all of the flowers and plants and Josh, Bobby & I worked on a stone mason project to re-install some slate stepping stones that hadn’t been installed properly by your’s truly. Well, I was flat out amazed by Josh’s diligence in getting a tape measure and meticulously laying out the project so that the site would be properly prepared for the placement of the slate so that we didn’t have to make adjustments all the time…and you know what?…he was right on the mark! Bobby pitched in and lent his physical skills & exuberance to the project and between all of us, we got done with a 2-3 hour project in something like 30-45 minutes! How about that? It was a joy to see everyone pitching and working together on various projects. I’m really proud of all of them! Here’s to Josh, Bobby & Quinn…stone masons, landscapers & plant/flower care givers extraordinaire!
Here’s some more entries from my Icelandic adventure journal…
July 13, 2019
One of the interesting things to see around Iceland is how the clouds hang over the mountains…kind of like a “Mountains In The Mist” effect. It’s quite something to see as you travel along the many fjords and river valleys here.
I can’t get over that “free car wash” in Grendvik, one of my favorite villages in Iceland. They provide the hose, the brush and the water and it’s a do it yourself car wash…really sweet! It keeps everyone’s cars looking good after traveling the gravel roads here.
We traveled through the Hverrallir (sp?) Nature Reserve today…Location names in Iceland are a hoot—a challenge for English speaking people for sure…names like “Drombstaddir”…or something to that effect!
Before I forget, I want to give a shout out to the Akureyri Botanical Gardens…what a great place to visit…so many flowers and plants of various kinds…many that I’ve never seen before that are either native to Iceland and can grow in this particular climate (with lots of TLC provided by the Botanical Gardens staff). It’s amazing to me that they can keep all of the plants and flowers alive all year long. One of the marvels of Iceland, for sure! It was here that I was introduced to the Kjorr ice cream bars that I’ve spoken about before. Be sure you take advantage of these delights while you are in Iceland. They have many different yummy flavors of ice cream bars….something you won’t get in the U.S..!
We took the mountain pass route from northern Iceland to southern Iceland as we made our way back toward Reykjavik and our flight home. It was a dirt/gravel road pretty much the whole way. It was a terrific adventure, to say the least! We were treated to panoramic views of Hofsjorskull and Langjokull glaciers/ice caps, something I’ve never ever seen before. They were huge and spectacular! There are tours you can go on that will take you inside these huge glaciers…that’s an adventure we didn’t experience on this trip, but it looks like it would be worthwhile if you have the time. You’ll want to take this road, even though it’s a little rough…the views and experience is a “must do” while you’re here. We stopped at the nature geyser area at Hverrellir…this is an area rarely visited by tourists, and I can see why, given that it’s remote and you can’t get there by paved road and it’s a bit of a distance from the more populated area of Iceland. This place included a natural hot pool…something special! We had mixed weather along the way…As we came down from Hverrellir, we were treated to views of the Langjokull glacier as it came down to the lake just below it. You could see the glacier hanging over the lake…breath taking! At the hot pool at Hverrellir we spotted our first evidence of law enforcement…two police officers in a four wheel drive made their appearance there!
We just spotted a Ford Mustang convertible on the highway to Selfoss, another of the many waterfalls/water features throughout Iceland. This particular large waterfall is the closest one to Reykjavik. Even here you can find a convertible! The guy behind the wheel was either a local or a tourist enjoying a ride in a convertible with the top down in balmy (18 degree celsius) temperature. A convertible in Iceland…what will we see next?
Not much in the way of large highway signs in Iceland. You have to really keep your eyes peeled to catch the right exits and/or correct turns. In Iceland, they are into small signs and rarely any billboard sized signs, except for the occasional public service message.
I think I mentioned this before, but I was taken by the small chapels that farm families have built next to their farm homes. It’s not unusual to see church chapel buildings with a spire in a family farm compound (close to the farm house and adjoining buildings such as stables, silos, barns, etc..
Most of the paved roads in Iceland are the two-lane variety, with little opportunity to pass (i.e. no passing lanes!). It doesn’t seem to present much of a problem though, given Icelandic traffic flows/patterns (particularly in the outlying areas). 70% of Iceland’s 340,000+ residents live in the greater Reykjavik area. The rest of the country that we were privileged to visit is made up of little towns, villages & hamlets with lots of family farms dotting the landscape. Iceland really is a special and unique place to visit…like nothing you’ve seen before (I think!). An article in “The Reykjavik Grapevine: Life, Travel & Entertainment In Iceland sums up our Icelandic experience pretty well: “We too take pleasure in communicating how humbling, mesmerizing and sublime Iceland’s wilderness can be. Over the last decade and a half, we’ve visited the most remote parts of the country to express this stunning place to our readers…”
If you haven’t put Iceland on your bucket list as of yet, you’ll want to be sure and do so. It’s well worth the journey!
Here’s the silly question for the day:
Q: What is the difference between a hippo and a zippo?
A: One is a little lighter.
Here are some thoughts for the day:
“To love at all is to be vulnerable.”
—C.S. Lewis, “The Four Loves”, as quoted in “C.S. Lewis’ Little Book Of Wisdom” (2018)
“Love is not affectionate feeling, but a steady wish for the loved person’s ultimate good as far as it can be obtained.”
—C.S. Lewis, “God in the Dock”, as quoted in “C.S. Lewis’ Little Book Of Wisdom” (2018)
Lots of love & good wishes always!
Press on,
Papa ‘a (Dad, Uncle Mark, etc.)